The present invention relates to a device for collecting pieces used in board games for convenient storage and use. More specifically, the invention relates to a tile catcher for use with SCRABBLE boards and other games.
In many board games, tiles, marbles, or other pieces must be removed from the playing surface at the end of the game, to prepare for the next game or for storage. If the board is smooth, it is an option to sweep the pieces by hand into a bag or box, but for SCRABBLE and some other games in which the pieces are set into recessed spaces during playing, it is impossible to sweep the pieces off the board. They must be picked off by the handfull, which is tedious, or the board must be tipped or inverted to collect the pieces, which tends to cause spillage.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,426 discloses a dust cover for a board game including a pouring spout for collecting the pieces. The rigid design of this device makes it inconvenient.
Some SCRABBLE players use a mesh bag to place over the game board. When the board is tipped into the bag, the tiles are collected conveniently. One version is simply a square bag. Another version is a rectangular pouch with an extended back flap like an envelope. However, to transfer the tiles into the tile bag for storage or further use requires manipulation and may lead to spillage.